How License Plate Readers Are Normalizing Mass Surveillance

A Big Win for Encrypted Messaging

When it comes to keeping our texts, chats, and other digital messages safe from prying eyes, we have a powerful tool: end-to-end encryption. Used correctly, end-to-end encryption turns our conversations online into secret messages that can only be decoded by their intended recipients. For years, we've been urging tech companies to bring this privacy-protecting tool to more of the apps and platforms we use every day. This month marks an important step forward for encrypted messaging—as well as a notable disappointment. This week, Apple released iOS 26.5, an update that supports end-to-end encryption for Rich Communication Services (RCS), meaning conversations between Android and iPhone will soon be encrypted [https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/05/victory-end-end-encrypted-rcs-comes-apple-and-android-chats] in the default chat apps. Unfortunately, Instagram ended its opt-in, and therefore rarely used, end-to-end encryption feature [https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/05/broken-promises-rip-instagrams-end-end-encrypted-dms]. Years after publicly promising to provide the privacy protections of end-to-end encryption across its platforms by default, it instead gave up on that technical challenge. Now, we've all lost an option for safer conversations on one of the biggest social media platforms in the world. EFFector is a podcast by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the leading nonprofit defending online civil liberties. Become an EFF member today at https://eff.org/podfan [https://eff.org/podfan]. 00:00 Intro 03:15 Interview with Thorin Klosowski 18:25 Post-Interview Discussion 21:32 Encryption Quiz 26:33 EFF Events and Opportunities

California's Terrible, No Good, Very Bad Social Media Ban

We'd all like the internet to be a better place—for kids and adults alike. But in the name of online safety, governments around the world are racing to impose a dangerous new system of control. Following Australia's lead, California is now looking to ban anyone under 16 from accessing social media. That means putting much of the internet behind an age gate—a checkpoint that forces every user, regardless of age, to hand over even more sensitive information to tech companies. Are age gates the silver bullet to the internet's problems they're being promoted as? Or are we being sold a bill of goods? Read more here: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/act-now-stop-californias-paternalistic-and-privacy-destroying-social-media-ban EFFector is a podcast by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the leading nonprofit defending online civil liberties. Become an EFF member today at https://eff.org/podfan

When Homeland Security Wants Names, Will Google Have Your Back?

When we use the internet, we're entrusting tech companies with some of our most private information. These companies have promised they'll keep our data safe. But what happens when the government comes knocking at their doors? In April 2025, ICE sent Google an administrative subpoena requesting the data of Amandla Thomas-Johnson, a Ph.D. candidate studying in the U.S. on a student visa. The next month, Google gave Thomas-Johnson's information to ICE without giving him the chance to challenge the invalid subpoena, breaking a nearly decade-long promise to notify users before handing their data to law enforcement. Read Thomas-Johnson's account of his ordeal: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/google-broke-its-promise-me-now-ice-has-my-data [https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/04/google-broke-its-promise-me-now-ice-has-my-data]. EFFector is a podcast by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the leading nonprofit defending online civil liberties. Become an EFF member today at https://eff.org/podfan [https://eff.org/podfan]. 00:00 Intro 04:11 Interview with F. Mario Trujillo 18:09 Discussion 21:43 Digital Rights Quiz 33:38 EFF Events and Opportunities

How License Plate Readers Are Normalizing Mass Surveillance

All across the country, police have convinced communities to pay for mass surveillance systems like license plate readers, claiming they will help stop the most serious crimes. But once these ever-watchful electronic eyes are installed in your city, it's not just violent criminals they're recording—it's everyone. Time and time again, we've seen police surveillance suffer from "mission creep." Technology that was sold as a way to catch killers ends up being used to enforce traffic violations, track protesters, and more. In this episode, we explain what mission creep is—and how it explains the disturbing normalization of mass surveillance technology. EFFector is a podcast by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the leading nonprofit defending online civil liberties. Become an EFF member today at https://eff.org/podfan [https://eff.org/podfan]. 00:00 Intro 03:17 Interview with Adam Schwartz 26:57 Discussion 33:07 News Quiz 37:20 EFF Events and Opportunities

Who's Really Watching What Smartglasses See?

Thanks to smartphones, almost everybody these days is carrying a little video camera around in their pocket, all the time. But the next time a stranger films you in public, you might not be able to tell they're recording at all. In fact, their camera might look just like an ordinary pair of glasses. After years of tech industry experiments, smartglasses with embedded cameras and microphones have finally gone mainstream. And, disturbingly, sometimes it's not just their owners who are watching what these devices record. This week, we'll be taking a closer look at the privacy implications of Meta Ray-Bans, the smartglasses from the makers of Facebook designed to be worn everywhere, all the time. EFFector is a podcast by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the leading nonprofit defending online civil liberties. Become an EFF member today at https://eff.org/podfan [https://eff.org/podfan]. 00:00 Intro 03:47 Interview with Thorin Klosowski 14:58 Discussion 21:40 Smartglasses Quiz 26:28 News Quiz 35:07 EFF Events and Opportunities